With the quick passing of Indian Wells and Miami there will be no big-time hardcourt tennis in the U.S. until July. David and I discuss what went right (and wrong) in Key Biscayne this past week, as we predict what the downswing means for a pair of Andys and look to a clay season dusted in question marks for Novak Djokovic. Was soccer the right choice for the men’s Japan fundraiser? And will the women’s tour have a flourish of its top talent rising from the doldrums to compete in a Willliams-sister-less tour? Click on the link above to find out.

(Image by AFP)

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It’s been a week (ten days) of fashion fun in Miami. This is always the part of the season where players try out a little something new on the court after their Aussie kits have been worn and they gear up for the clay and grass court swings. Color? Obvi! It’s Miami. There’s one thing that never changes in Key Biscayne: the overhang on the suite boxes. We love the sea green, evergreen and ligh pink/peach hue of the pattern that has been a part of this tourney as long as we can remember. It screams Miami.

Here’s a review of what we saw this week in Miami. Vote for your fave in the poll below.

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Don’t cry for me: The pronunciation of David Ferrer‘s name is being butchered by newscasters across America as news stations run footage of him belting a ball up into the crowd on Wednesday out of frustration that a baby was crying. Well, that wasn’t the only reason, but Ferrer’s dismal, straight-set loss to Mardy Fish was just that: frustrating.

Flip flop: As the Sony Ericsson Open winds down, two very different players are working their way up in the rankings. For the men, it’s Mardy Fish, who overtookAndy Roddick as the top American man with a win over David Ferrer in the quarterfinals. A sick Roddick succumbed to Pablo Cuevas in the second round of the huge hard court Miami event and was bounced out of the top ten for the first time in some years.

Maria’s back in the habit: While the Williams sisters fall outside of the top ten with illness and injury, Maria Sharapova is rising back to the top tier with decent showings at Indian Wells and this week in Miami. Masha has Andrea Petkovic in the semis, a player who flattened her when the two met Down Under in Melbourne. (More Maria: Those earrings!)

… but no royal wedding, yet: Apparently, the 23-year-old Maria is in “no rush to get married,” according to Show Biz Spy. And why should she be? We’d like to see Maria win two or three more Majors – she’s got them in her, we think – before strolling down to take Sasha’s hand. Meanwhile: No playoffs for his Nets.

But seriously, is Maria just getting cold feet? “In the beginning I was really, really excited, and all my friends were giving me like wedding magazines and wedding books. But I was quite overwhelmed with it, and then I just put them down and said, ‘Okay, I have plenty of time.’ We’re still very young.”

Swan song for Petko’s dance? While Petkovic even has the ever-awkward Ana Ivanovic shaking her tail feather on the tennis court, the German – who is matching her play to her popularity this week – is retiring her famous jig following this week. She told the press that it’s time to move on from the ditty, which became an underground hit in tennis realms. Is she lending her dance skills to B-Spears? We sure hope so. But notice: She said “move on.” We’re sensing another dance number folks, just something new and, well, so Petko.

Rum like Rafa: Rafael Nadal recently signed a deal with Bacardi, receiving some backlash in the process. Says Nadal, “I am not presenting alcohol party, you know. It’s a responsible campaign, a social campaign. Anyway, I think alcohol is inside our lives, so is nothing new, no?” No Rafa, it’s nothing new to us. And we appreciate your push for responsibility. More: YouTube channel | Facebook

‘Round the world: Then there are the two Missoula, Montana, teens who just broke the Guinness World Record for the longest singles tennis match, ever. Isner-Mahut looks like a Roehampton side court to this Centre Court effort. The two high school seniors clocked in nearly 61 hours of tennis over three days before collapsing, raising $7,000 for charity in the process. Snaps for those court warriors.

Remember these fellas? This was Roger and Rafa‘s second meeting ever, a year after Rafa had beaten Rog 3 and 3 in the third round at Miami. Nadal led this final two sets to love only to fall 2-6, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-1. Nadal would win their next five encounters before falling to Federer in the 2006 Wimbledon final.

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Bottom’s on top: It’s official! The classy poster of a woman scratching her derriere in flattering tennis whites has been posted as one of the all-time best-selling posters, according to a recent article in the Guardian. Model and poster will soon be reunited after 35 years for an upcoming event celebrating tennis art, writes Patrick Kingsley. Pictured above, Fiona Walker, now 52, tells all in a piece from the Telegraph. (ed. note: Meanwhile, how cute is Patrick??TSF is always looking for more freelancers… )

Feeling bi(coastal): Indian Wells is over, and it’s time to move on to Miami for some more fun-in-the-sun at the Sony Ericsson Open. But, before we leave Cali behind, how about news on the Serb we’ve been loving lately, Novak Djokovic? Not only did he thrash Rafa in the final set to take the title, word on the interwebs is Caro has been pining for him, at least symbolically. Move over, Ana – and longtime girlfriend Jelena Ristic – this lovely lady has the ranking and the sense of humor Nole just might be looking for these days. Or do you think he’d go for more of a Fiona Walker-type?

Ballin': Tonight several top players – Nole and Rafa among them – were taking to the soccer pitch for a fundraiser for the victims of the Japan tsunami disaster. If it looks anything like the boys playing a little soccer tennis last summer, we’re sad we missed it.

World order, struck down: So while Novak’s getting the girls, the titles and playing some soccer for a good cause to boot, Roger‘s just plain losing – a lot. Ousted by the Djoker in a three-set semifinal showdown for the world no. 2 spot, Rog also succumbed in doubles with partner Stanislas Wawrinka. Fed suffered a “triple tennis blow” in Cali, says one piece. Now that’s one way to put it – and no, it doesn’t mean what you were hoping it did.

The Devil Watches Tennis: At least Roger has one Anna Wintour to comfort him. The Vogue editor is the subject of a much-talked-about Wall Street Journal magazine piece released online today. What is Anna doing in the lead image of the profile? Watching Rog – on TV.

As if they needed an excuse: Boasting like it’s some sort of change of pace, Miami is getting ready for the SEO with music, parties and … well, tennis. Is that any different than any other time of the year? Our pick: Funkshion Fashion Week. Shows happen all week long, including the Masquerade Motel on Saturday night, a beach-front show that’s already been sold out.

Little lady on the small screen: Dominika Cibulkova is being noticed for more than her small size (she’s just 5’3). For the entirety of the SEO, she’ll be a star on the online reality show Xperia Hot Shots, which is set to “follow the lives of six aspiring stars of the WTAas they try to build their Facebook fan base.” Says Domi: “It is so exciting to be part of this unique campaign … it’s a privilege to be just one of only a few girls selected for this.” While Cibulkova has 4,652 “likes” on FB, we’re curious: is that really her in the profile pic? Coulda fooled us.

BFFs (Blog For Fans) — Well-known tennis blog (that’s us!) seeks fan(s) (you??) to contribute photos, writing, musings and more from Indian Wells and/ or Miami. Yes! We love shirtless photos (of the players, not you, silly). No! We don’t care about the score of a third-round match on Court 7 (unless it involves Lynn Welch). In all seriousness, we welcome: behind-the-scenes gossip from from around the grounds, a shirtless practice pic (did we already mention this?!) and whether you like your lemonade slurpees with or without vodka (guess how we prefer ours?).

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Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Now we are seeing where Jada gets that hair. We were starting to wonder a little… (WTA photo via web site)

The past couple weeks were full of tennis glamour in Miami, and Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters came away from the beaches of Florida with smiles on their faces as they won big-time titles in impressive fashion. We’ve got to hand it to Roddick for continuing to change his game and try to break the top crop of the ATP Tour. Wimbledon 2009 may not have been his final stand in a Major. We’ll stay tuned.

Measuring Beauty: A New York Times article out yesterday touched on feminine beauty taking on a new role as Baylor star basketball player Brittney Griner becomes a household name. Griner stands 6 feet, 8 inches, and has had her sexuality – and gender identity – questioned. But even Stella McCartney insiders recognized her unique look as gorgeous, the article says.

Oh-des-don’t! Things are looking rather bleak for Wayne Odesnik’s tennis future after news broke that vials of human growth hormones were found in his luggage in Australia. Want the full story? Bonnie D. Ford has a tremendous summary here, complete with quotes from other American players. Wondering why Odes is still playing in Houston this week? The charges against him are being investigated and no formal ATP rulings have been made.

Robson, Mississippi: A few hundred miles away from Wayne-mania in Houston, Britain’s Laura Robson is playing in her first event since making the junior final at the Australian Open. Robson joins top-seeded American Lindsay Lee-Waters and second seed Julia Cohen in Jackson, Mississippi for the 25K ITF circuit event.

Kim Clijsters made quick work of Venus Williams yesterday in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne. The 2009 U.S. Open champion added her first tournament win of 2010 on U.S. soil. The last time Clijsters beat both Justine Henin and Venus Williams in the same tournament was at the Season Ending Championships in 2002, almost eight years ago!

P.S. Who’s that cute guy on Kim’s left?! She calls him “Wim” in the caption (or is he Sam?!). C’mon folks, we know you know…

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While Melanie Oudin was busy making believers out of all of us, the one she really has to worry about is herself. (Photo via Getty Images)

It hasn’t been an easy year for Melanie Oudin. Since she rocketed to stardom at last year’s U.S. Open, the American teenager has struggled to marry her new-found life in the public eye with hard work off the tennis court. The result has been a topsy turvy tennis season that has left most of us wondering: What will happen to Melanie Oudin?

What most of us (including myself) have forgotten, is that before there was her run at Flushing Meadows or her stunning breakthrough at Wimbledon, she has spring success in North America last season with inspiring tennis at Charleston, Indian Harbour Beach (ITF) and Raleigh (ITF). It was a span of four weeks of tennis that saw Oudin lose just one out of 15 matches, sending her ranking from 177 in the world to number 125.

What we’ve learned about Oudin in the nine months that we’ve known her well (since she won six matches at Wimbledon last summer), is that she’s a streaky player. After her spring winning streak last year, she lost badly at the French Open the first round of qualifying, winning just one game in a match against Zuzana Ondraskova, ranked 192nd.

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In the past few weeks, Real Housewife Kelly Bensimon has made a push to become the most tennis-savvy of the New York ladies, first appearing with Venus at the Billie Jean King Cup in New York, and yesterday hosting a celebrity exhibition match in Miami.

TSF spoke with Kelly’s cast matesRamona Singer and Jill Zarin at the Night of Legends tennis event in September. We wondered who Jill might pick as a doubles partner in a re-match of the two reality stars’ tennis duel. Maybe she should consider Kelly, no?

The ladies of the Real Housewives of New York are back on the small screen with their third season of cat fights and caviar.

The penchant for funky eyewear runs in the Tipsarevic family, clearly, and at times this energy turns evil. Like in the case of Veljko — Janko’s younger brother — who came to the Sony Ericsson Open straight from his audition for Starlight Express.

The loss of Roger Federer to Andy Roddick at last week’s Sony Ericsson Open created a vacuum in fashionable men’s tennis gear, but Rafael Nadal quickly stepped up to the plate. Fortunately for TSF, some good screencaps by the folks at VamosBrigade.com (plus photojournalists at the tourney) have given us a good look at Rafa’s head-to-toe Nike kit for the week.

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Racquet switches are usually done during the off-season to give the player a chance to acclimate to the difference. (Remember James Blake’s unsuccessful affair with Prince?) At the beginning of last week’s tournament, Nikolay Davydenko switched to the Ozone Pro Tour, a racquet with the same frame (”cosmetically”) but with a denser string pattern. Instead of 16 rows of strings, it has 18. This means more control.

He’s not for the birds: Top Russian Nikolay Davydenko won his second Tennis Masters Series title by handily beating Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-2 at the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open. This after overcoming Andy Roddick in the semis. Looks like Kolya has finally shaken off the mental insecurities that came with being under investigation for match fixing. Like Mary Carillo said in during CBS‘ coverage of the final, “This is what Davydenko will be known for” even if he’s cleared of allegations. Better leave all that worrying to your lawyers, Nikolay.

It’s a given that any person who wants to improve their tennis skills must watch their favorite pros on television. Let’s just hope they’re not trying to emulate the games of Mikhail Youzhny or Serena Williams. ( Continue reading…)

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Guga Kuerten lost his first round match against Sebastien Grosjean in the first round of the Sony Ericsson Open. The scoreline: 6-1, 7-5.

While his game might not have held up, his fashion sense sure did. He wore a bright orange/red kit (with red hat, red shoes) from Diadora Guga Kuerten. Le sigh, we’ll sure miss his flair when he retires.

In doubles, he wore white and won one match with Nicolas Lapentti against Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco. They lost in the next round to Aspelin and Knowles. Lapentti also presented Kuerten with an award at an ATP banquet during the tournament.

Looking forward: Kuerten’s next stop on his farewell tour is a Challenger-level tournament in Florianopolis, Brazil. That event begins on April 14.